#158 Practical Crisis Strategies
Fictional Case Demonstrating ABCs of Assessment
The ABCs of assessment involve “affective (feeling or emotional tone), behavioral (action or psychomotor activity), and cognitive (thinking patterns).” A fictional case that I imagine is that of a man who finds himself addicted to fentanyl who reaches out to my church for help. While this is a fictional scenario it is also a regular occurrence at my church. When the client first arrives they are in the affective state. This is where they are driven by their emotions and the counselor needs to help de escalate the situation. Next is behavioral functioning, this is where the actions that need to take place are determined. In this case, the counselee needs to be in a drug recovery program, placed in a cooperative home where he can be watched, and needs to be connected to a community fentanyl anonymous. The third step is the cognitive state, where thinking patterns and beliefs need to be addressed. The emotions may go from anger or fear to excitement for a future without addiction. The client may believe they are alone in their struggles. To address this issue I would show how they are not alone, connecting them to the Centers For Living in Fresno which houses those in addiction and provides a range of resources (Centers For Living, n.d.). I would also accompany them to fentanyl anonymous at my church where they can hear testimonies of recovery and get connected with others who are more experienced than myself.
Key Action Strategies
The key action strategy is exploring what resources are available to the client. These may include pastors, family, friends, or crisis resources in the city. Isaiah 61:1 is applicable to how to counselor thinks through their relationship to the client in this situation it says “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners” (New American Standard Bible). This verse highlights key action strategies: proclaiming hope for the client, giving emotional support, empowering the client, and helping to restore dignity to the client.
Fresno Mobile Crisis Team
In Fresno California there is a mobile crisis team. The team is available in many ways. They have an emergency hotline, they do interventions, mental health counseling, and respond to substance abuse crises (Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health, n.d.).
Texting and Crisis Intervention
Texting in crisis intervention may be used to give the client more control of the situation. In Crisis Intervention Strategies used a story that showed a teenage boy using a crisis texting service to have more time, space, and distance to consider what he believed before putting it to words. The sooner he felt ‘heard’ via text, the sooner he started talking again (James & Gilliland, 2020). Texting can be a way for clients to work through their thoughts and feelings in a more controlled way than just speaking.
References
Centers For Living. (n.d.). Centers For Living. https://www.centersforliving.org/
Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health. (n.d.). Fresno Mobile Crisis. Fresno County. https://www.fresnocountyca.gov/Departments/Behavioral-Health/Care-Services/Programs-Services/Fresno-Mobile-Crisis
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).
Richard K. James and Burl E. Gilliland, Crisis Intervention Strategies, 8th ed. (Boston: Cengage Learning, 2017).
